The Professional Services Lead Generation Process: 7 Key Steps To Success

By Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D.

Generating a sufficient number of qualified leads is a top concern for most professional services executives. Often the whole process can seem unpredictable, even random. You invest time and money and have little to show for it.

Some firms, however, have a steady flow of qualified leads that result in prime clients. One of the key differences is that these high growth firms have a well crafted plan. And the centerpiece of that plan is a structured lead generation process.

The Lead Generation Process Defined

A lead generation process describes how you identify, nurture and qualify potential new clients — culminating eventuall in a request for proposal.

In many firms, the lead generation process is a marketing function, while closing the sale is the responsibility of a sales team or the professionals who will provide the service. In other firms, the lead generation process and closing the sale are the combined responsibility of firm principals or partners.

While the terminonology varies across industries, the process ususally has three fundamental components:

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Social Media for HR: 10 Game Changing Tips

By Sean McVey

I recently ran into the company website for PrimePay, a firm specializing in payroll, tax,  HR, insurance and benefit services.  I must say, you don’t come across many professional service firm websites that are doing so many things right.  Fresh content, social media engagement and lead-generating calls to action are just a few elements that drew my attention.

But rolling out a successful social media program for a payroll company — or any services firm — is not easy.  So how do they do it?  I called up Nancy Mullin, Manager of Marketing and Interactive Services at PrimePay, and asked.  Here are 10 tips she offered:

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What is Brand Positioning and Why Does it Matter?

By Aaron Taylor

At Hinge, we’ve helped a lot of professional services firms position themselves in the marketplace. But if you’ve never been through the process before, the whole concept of brand positioning could sound a little too good to be true. After all, it would take more than a little marketing fairy dust to push your firm in a different direction. Right?

In fact, repositioning your brand may not be as difficult as it seems. And it will make it much easier for you to develop new business.

You see, most professional services firms float more or less aimlessly through the marketplaces. They pursue whatever business opportunities come their way, spreading their net of services ever wider to increase their chances of catching new clients. These firms become indistinguishable from the majority of their competitors, and they find that more and more often they compete on price.

It doesn’t have to be that way. And positioning your firm is the answer.

Brand positioning is nothing more than a way to help prospective customers make sense of your business. When you position your firm, you begin to stand for something — something distinct and useful. Not everyone is going to want what you have to offer. But to those clients that need your services, your positioning will make your firm extraordinarily attractive.

So how do you develop an effective market position? The process is laid down in layers:

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Infographic: Increasing the Growth and Profitability of Your Firm: No Magic Required

By Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D.; Infographic by Brian Lemen

(Click image to see full infographic)

What does it take to build a firm capable of extraordinary growth and profitability? After over 4 years of research on hundreds of professional services firms there are finally some clear answers.

We discovered a group of professional services firms that grow 9x faster than their peers, are 50% more profitable, yet spend less than average on sales and marketing. Exactly how do they do it?

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Website Planning Guide Part 1: Evaluate Your Current Site

By Sean McVey

When planning a website redesign, it is vital to understand what is working on your current site and what is not. Before diving into new ideas, start by following these initial steps.

Talk to Your Team

Ask the people within your organization what they like and don’t like about your website.  Chances are you will get mixed answers, so take them with a grain of salt.  The goal is to get a feel for strengths and weaknesses and this will often uncover unexpected areas for improvement.  Look for feedback on the following issues:

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What’s Your Online Marketing Priority?

By Sean McVey

Imagine you are the VP of Marketing Communications at a major supply chain management software company.  Your job is to figure out how to get the most out of your firm’s marketing dollars.  You know online marketing has a place, but you really don’t know where to focus.  Do you hire a social media guru?  Do you invest in video?  SEO? A blog? The possibilities are really endless… but your budget isn’t.  So how do you spend?

Kirsten Watson from Kinaxis was in this very situation.  And after a long digital journey, she now finds herself leading one of the most successful online marketing teams in the technology industry.  With an estimated 35-40% of the firm’s leads coming from the web, there’s no question Kinaxis has found a formula for success.

While chatting with Kirsten, I began to realize how important prioritization is to her strategy. Today, Kinaxis deploys a number of online marketing tactics, but the firm began by focusing on a just a few foundational techniques.  After mastering those techniques, they gradually expanded their repertoire.

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